here it is

Sydney by E and C,
highlights in a list:

15 June to 19 June 2006.

1. 15 June we arrive at Sydney's airport, at about 540am. Bloody Kingsford Sydney Transport service that was due to bring us to the hotel, finally got us going at 740am. It was 7 degrees c and as cold as is required to see your breath forming in the air as vapour clouds. The sunrise was fabulous, since we got to actually see the sky lighting up itself during the wait. Now I know that the winter sunrise has cool colours, even if to the common eye it is just blue and orange. It is beautiful. I never really liked sunrises, but I always love the sky, it tells you a lot you need to know about art, and God's brushstrokes.



Waiting on the shuttle bus at sunrise


2. One thing I realise, Sydney folks aren't as friendly as Brisbane's. No hollers of 'thank-you's to the bus drivers or whatever. But then again, it was a long cold wait, perhaps everyone was just being quietly pissed.


3. We finally reach the hotel, Swissotel at 68 Market Street. The hotel is great, they let us check in early, so we slept till past lunch, and I woke up having gastric pains. But thankfully, I had replenished my Omeprezole at the doctor's before the trip, for situations like this. We head out on to the street.



Our hotel room as we enter


4. Market Street is perpendicular to George Street, a main artery in the city. Turn right to Darling Harbour, left, a longer way, to Circular Quay where the Opera House and all that are. We head to Darling Harbour to try and find a late lunch (unsuccessfully, and no ice cream either, we couldn't find it Syl!) and take a ferry just for fun, to Circular Quay. The cold air is lovely and breezy. It is almost dark, almost 6pm.



Darling Harbour at sunset


Waiting for the ferry to Circular Quay


5. We are going to the Sydney Observatory, a place for l337 science geeks, which I planned because I know I have to appease C before we head to the art gallery the next day. And yes he loved it - a happy man makes a happy girl. We peered out of the Observatory's dome through really scientific looking telescope-thingummies. My favourite was the binary star called Alpha Centauri - two huge bright lights, so bright and lovely looking as they are seen next to each other. (Daffy you would have loved this place I think!)


6. After that we finally get to eat something. I had my favourite beer in the world - Hahn Premium dark, and yes you must try it - at a warm pub called Jacksons on George (I think) where we got ourselves fed before we took a walk back to the hotel.


7. I think we watched soccer, though I cannot be sure, we slept till past (our free hotel-) breakfast time the next day.
   


8. 16 June was our second day at The Rocks (Circular Quay) and we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art. The Sydney Biennale 2006 is on at this point, and the MCA is one of the venues. We had lunch al fresco by the harbour at the MCA's cafe, really good atas food, and superb coffee as it is usual in Australia's cafes.



At the Rocks


9. The Biennale was okay, there were just one or two exhibits I liked. They were mostly video installations, which I do not like very much to be honest. I feel that art should be art, and video installations are more informative, like video-documentaries. If they are arty, like those I can appreciate in clubs, together with music and sound, then yeah. But not like that. A bit of a disappointment. I still enjoy the Queensland Art Gallery a whole lot more. Another up to Brisbane there.
   


10. We took a walk around the harbour after that, avoiding the cute fat flying gulls like mad (C's coat got shat on on the first day at Darling Harbour, damn gulls).
    


11. Again, nice cold winds, icy looking grass in the gardens, Opera House and all that.






















12. We then had dinner at Pancakes on the Rocks. Affirmed by many friends that we have to eat there. They are right. I am still lingering for another chomp on those chocolate pancakes.
    





13. After our fabulous dinner we walked back to the Opera House to catch a dance performance - The Director's Cut by the Sydney Dance Company. I now affirm that I am not a dance person either. The parts I enjoy most about the dance were the music and the set design, which were brilliant. C and I nearly fell asleep the first part of the performance. How irreverent we are.
    


14. After that we met Estee and Nelson for a beer at Lowenbrau. Nice!



Estee and Nelson



E and C and yummy German beer


15. We head back in Nelson's car, and probably watched soccer again!


16. 17 June we missed the free hotel breakfast again, and also we never made it to the other art gallery I wanted to go. We nearly missed Paddington's markets too, save for 15 minutes of it before closing time. We had a late lunch somewhere enroute to the markets, along Oxford Street, at a coffee parlour called Aristotle's. Yeah we actually walked to the Paddington's markets, through the lovely Hyde Park and along Oxford Street, which actually houses a lot of nice female-friendly shops. We did some shopping on our way back (I bought a pair of pants for A$19.95 and a couple of gifts) after the markets closed, and also had a coffee/tea and toilet break in a cafe along the way.
    






Hyde Park


17. Back at the city, we explored it at night, and had dinner at a Japanese place, and then (at C's suggestion of course) watched a movie at George Street cinemas- too fast too furious tokyo drift. Was expensive but fun anyway. The movie was horrible - inane conversation with no storyline. Like porn but only it's about cars. Oh but I had waffles with our hot chocolates before the movie started at The Dish, a cafe inside the cinema, and they were good.
    


18. 18 June was Bondi Beach day! And we finally ate our free hotel breakfast before we went, half an hour before breakfast time closed, the staff were shocked unawares to see us coming in at 10am.
    


19. We took a bus 380 to the beach, (2 adults cost A$5.60) and we got to the market at Bondi, which was really fun. We had lunch at a beautiful restaurant along the beach called Nick's, which had the loveliest oysters, C says the best he has ever had. Then we walked along the (sidewalk on the) beach, watching the surfers, shivering in the cold wind and taking pictures. There was nice graffiti art, and the waves were really lovely. Everwhere around us was the horizon. We then took a bus back.




E and C at Bondi Beach





E (running amok) at the Bondi Markets




Lunch at Nick's on Bondi Beach






C's lovely meaty lunch





Bondi's graffiti art





20. Went to Abbey's bookstore, at Kelvin's advice. C bought something from their Galaxy bookstore - their sci-fi books wing.
    


21. We caught the Sydney Film Festival too, that night at the same cinemas on George Street. Not very good, but entertaining all the same. And before that, ice cream just opposite, Gelatissimo, how unoriginal we are. The Singaporean girl at the ice-cream shop gave us a card so we could get more (free, but don't say that) ice-cream when we came back to Singapore.
    


22. Watched soccer again, at our hotel room though, though it was really swinging at Circular Quay that night. The Socceroos lost to Brazil of course, but it was such a good match to watch (Cahill is cute!). Unfortunately I fell asleep during half time and missed the first goal during the start of the second half.
    


23. 19 June and we are due to go back home already. Had lunch really quick at a cafe in Queen Victoria Building just near our hotel. QVB is like Ngee Ann City type of shopping, very atas and posh. It is our last day and C and I had our first and only argument for the trip, but it was all okay soon enough. C is a lovely boy. We never quarrel for long. Soon we are on our way to the airport.


24. I forget I am not in Singapore and do the typical Singaporean women thing, that is, wonder aloud why the check-in lines at the airport take so long. It looks like POSB at lunchtime, and just as slow too. I guess I wasn't prepared for the slow service because I wasn't in JB but in a cosmopolitan city. But then C shuts me up and we finally check in with only about an hour to go before our flight.
    


25. We do some more touristy airport shopping while waiting, but soon enough, we get onto the plane. Horrible flight, as mentioned. But the good thing was that the seats were not purple on this part of the plane we took back (I hate purple, it distresses me). And I could continue watching I Not Stupid Too, which I only caught half of on the plane to Sydney. Movies On Demand are the best thing about SIA. To and from Sydney I watched Failure To Launch, 13 Going On 30, I Not Stupid Too, and Shrek 2. After all that, we took a taxi home. Good to be back!